It has been known to strap a sheet metal coil, such as a sheet steel coil, by feeding a steel or plastic strap through the eye of the coil, tensioning the strap to form a tensioned loop around multiple layers of the steel coil, severing the tensioned loop from any remaining strap, and sealing the tensioned loop by applying a steel seal. For strapping such a coil, it has been known to employ a strapping machine of a type having two adjustably positionable, strap-guiding arms and an adjustably positionable strapping head.
The strap-guiding arms, once positioned at a suitable position for strapping a given coil, are pivotable between a closed position and an opened position. The strapping head, once positioned at a suitable position for strapping a given coil, is operative for feeding the strap along the path defined by the strap-guiding arms at the closed position, tensioning the strap so as to form a tensioned loop around multiple layers of the given coil, severing the tensioned loop from any remaining strap, and applying a steel seal to the tensioned loop.
It would be highly desirable to provide such a machine in which the strap-guiding arms would be automatically positionable so as to enable a given coil within a range of outer diameters to be tightly strapped with one or more straps in a generally radial plane, notwithstanding its nominal, outer diameter.